Monday, February 13, 2012

This past week I knocked out a few more customer interviews. So far I have been getting some great feedback as to what parents see as being a product that provides them with a value added solution to practicing reading with their children at home. Each time I conduct a new interview the process seems to go smoother. It still amazes me how this is such an easy thing to do, yet it seems to get overlooked by so many people who are starting up a new business or service. I have found some of my hypothesis to be true, and other areas that need to be adjusted accordingly. I might have wasted a lot of time, effort, and money had I not taken a few steps back and worked through this process.

Also this past week the Reading Glue team officially brought on our first educational content adviser. I am so excited to have this person on board. She brings a ton of experience to the table. In one hour, she blew me away with some of her creative thoughts on how to improve the product. I have a really good feeling of what the Reading Glue product is going to be with this valuable resource now part of our team.

One of the big things that has been on my mind lately is bringing on a technical co-founder. I have never built anything from scratch, and all my experience has been on hacking at the front end. I do not have the slightest clue how the back end runs or is programmed. I decided to dedicate my time to understanding this a little more, and even applied to Chicago's very own Code Academy. Code Academy is en intensive 11 week program designed to teach a beginner the fundamentals needed to build web apps using Ruby on Rails. This is essential if I want to code any part of Reading Glue on my own. It will also allow me to understand the programming environment that I can build a solid technical team. My fingers and toes are crossed that this works out and I am accepted into the program. Either way, I am going to start dedicating some time each week to learn a little more about the Ruby on Rails framework. It can't hurt, and I might just find an awesome technical co-founder in the process. If you have any great resources or tips, please share. I am always open ears to some great advice.

About

My name is James Stubblefield, and this blog is something I am throwing together to help keep a journal of my experiences in building and launching Reading Glue. There are bound to be a lot of bumps on this road, but I am strapped in tight and ready for the rough ride.